Land-sale reaction ‘archaic paranoia’

Press, 19 April 1980, Page 2

Land-sale reaction ‘archaic paranoia’

PA '"i Rotorua i New Zealanders were showing “archaic paranoia”! over the sale of land to for-| eigners, according to the Minister of Regional; Development and Tourism (Mr Cooper). He tola the Municipal Association Conference in Rotorua that New ; Zealand would miss lucrative ' investment opportunities unless such deals as the sale, of Coromandel farm land to a Saudi Arabian prince were permitted. Mr Cooper said .the, Coromandel deal carried the prospect of $2O million being available to finance other industry in New Zealand. He. defended the sale by saying it, was not? ’a sound policy?, to . discourage anvone who- chose to invest in this cdiiSftry.

I There had been a large I number of sales of land tof I foreign buyers, but only to I those with a sound basis and offering a good return. The Government' planned to spend five billion dollars on developing New Zealand’s energy resources in the next 10 years. “That sort of money cannot come from the widow’s mite. It must come from overseas borrowing or foreign investment in New Zealand,” Mr Cooper said. The Government is considering removing the initial reticulation subsidy for sewerage systems, the Minister of Health (Mr Gair) warned delegates to the conference. “The ill-considered subdivisions and developments at numerous places round our coast and lake shores are setting in store grave prob-

lems,” he said, warning local (authorities to watch the cost of reticulating sea and lakeside holiday resorts.

“It is not going to be possible to provide all these with piped water and sewage services.” Through town planning, local bodies must concentrate future growth in areas which could economically be provided with, the, services needed for a community, the Minister said. “Schemes for subsidy where folly is the mother of the problem will not be favourablv considered.” Mr Gair said the initial sewerage reticulation subsidy was intended to help those communities that lagged in the provision of piped services, but the number of applications had dropped in recent years.